Apparatus for producing artificial ice.



P. F. STEIN. APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ARTIFICIAL 1GB.

APPLIGATION FILED APE.6,1908.

Patented Feb. 14, 1911..

FIGJQ I INEIQTOR @116 T ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL F. STEIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ARTIFICIAL ICE.

ceases.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 6, 1908.

Patented Feb. 14, 1911. Serial No. 425,572.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL F. ram, of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Producing Artificial Ice, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification, such. as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. a

My invention relates to apparatus for pro ducing artificial ice wherein the water to be frozen is placed in a receptacle and the same surrounded by the freezing influence and the object. of my invention is primarily to produce such ice economically of uniform texture and without the snow-like improperly frozen central portion commonly present in ice" of this character. I attain this end in a n'ianner which will be fully set forth hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the/claims."

Reference is-had to the accon'1panying drawings showing one 'of the possible ways in which the invention may be practiced in which drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of one form of the receptacle in which the ice is frozen; Fig.

conducting 2 is a si elevation thereof with parts broken away; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section of one of the non conducting partitions; Fig. 4C is an elevation of the same; Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the receptacle indicating the manner in which the ice is frozen and Fig. 6 is a plan view of a modification.

The rece )tacle shown in Fi s. 1 to Shas metal or other heat corulucting sides a. The bottom 7) may be of conducting or non-conducting n'ia-terial but it is here shown of wood which is non-conducting. The ends of the receptacle c are wood or other nonmatcrial and when the re ceptacle is made to freeze more than. one cake of in? as in the instance shown in the drawings, it is provided with a number of transverse partitions (Z also of non-conducting material. Between the opposing heat conducting walls a of the receptacle there is a free open space so that the ice may freeze across and completely fill the same without obstrmr-tion, fori'ninga solid cake extending continuously from one wall a to the other and from one partition al to the other to the end wall ,0.

Fig. 5 illustrates the freezing process in *which view X indicates the ice in the form which it assumes at some period intermediate the beginning and end of the freezing process. The freezing influence is not transmitted through the non-conducting walls cand o and hence there is no freezing longitudinally of the receptacle. The freezing influence is, however, transmitted through the conducting walls a and hence at the inception of the freezing process ice forms in a thin sheet on the underside of 5 is presented, to wit, the progressively increasing sheets of ice forn'iing on the side walls (1, are thicker at the bottom than at the top and meet each other at the bottom before they meet at the top leaving a tapering water space indicated at X in the center. This water space Xf gradually decreases until finally the entire cake is frozen solid from one wall a. to the other andextending continuously from the bottom to the very top thereo It is well known that ordinarily in ice making processes such as that towhich the invention relates, the cake of ice will be formed with a soft snowlike center or core due to the presence of the air in the water i and owing to the impossibility of this air escaping bye natural process it has been frequently proposed, with more or less success, to eradicate this defect by circulating air or water through the water in the receptacle. I have found, however, that this can be more effectually done and'the best results obtained by injecting air into the receptacle along lines approaching parallelism with the conducting-walls a and be tween the progressively thickening sheets of ice formed at. said Walls, the inlet orifices being in a vertical line or in the form of one vertical elongated orifice in the nature of a slot so that as the cake solidifies at the bottom continuously across from one wall a manner indicated by the dotted to the other, the orifices at the bottom will 'be closed, but those above will stillbe unob- 'into the artitions d, if the the'same are unemploys pipes 6 having an orifice f opening into' the water space. These nozzles are arranged one above the other and are preferably of increasing diameter from the top downward, but this is not essential. The nozzles are so arranged that-they will inject currents of air into the water s ace in the lines at the right hand end of Fig. 2 and by the bubbles indicated in Fig. 5, that is to say, the air currents are injected in a plane which is midway between the conducting walls a and parallel therewith. This is the ideal condition, although the broad principle which I contemplate may be accomplished more or less imperfectly by variations of this precise arrangement. The principle is that a continuous circulation is maintained in the water space between the two sections of ice which are forming toward each other and as Fast as the cake solidifies completely at the hottomand some of the air supplied is there cut ofl, sufficient of the air supply remains above to agitate the remaining water thus expelling the air and producing a cake of icewhich is of perfect texture uniformly throughout the cake. Owing to the manner in which the cake is formed and particularly to the fact that the two sheets of ice do not unite simultaneously on their surface, but unite progressively from the bottom upward, the joint between the two parts 'thus formed is practically perfect and a homogeneous cake is the result.

After the cake of ice .is formed, the re: ceptacle is lifted outof thetreezing agent and heated either naturally or artificiallyto loosen the ice from the sides of the re-' ceptacle and thereupon the cakes will readily slide out. To facilitate this the walls 0 and d are preferably made slightly tapering as shown. These walls, particularly the walls d, may permanently placed in po-, sition or may be made removable as desired. In the'latter case they would be remoyed from the receptacle with the ice and subsequently separated from the same.

Figs. 1 and 2 showa. receptacle of more than two compartments, but Fig.6 shows an arrangement in which the receptacle has only two compartments. Here the end walls (1' may be non-conducting if desired, but they are preferably of conducting material, the central partition alone being lionconducting and provided with'an air circulatinp means discharging into both compartments. Tn this Form oi? the'in vention the ice freezes from the two sides, the same as shown in Fig. 5 as far. :lSil'lO vertical section isconcerned, but in addition freezes along the outer walls a in the manner indicated at X Fig. 6, the air circulatingfrom both sides of the central non-conductductingwalls, whereby the ice forms in sheets on said conducting walls'and progressively increases until the two sheets of the ice in re homogeneously united, continuously throughout the'whole area of the said sheets, and means extending through the non-conducting wall for injecting a circulatin fluid current into said receptacle centraly between the sheets of ice. 1

2. An apparatus for producing artificial" ice comprising areccptacle having a noncomluctiug wall and conducting walls opposing each. other and adjoining said non unol'istructed chamber between thesaId conducting walls, whereby the ice forms inshcets first along the conducting walls and 1 progressively increases until the two sheets of the ice are homogeneously united continu ously throughout thearea'o'f the said receptacle, and means for-injecting circulating fluid currents into said receptacle at'difi'er} ent elevations and substantially central between the two sheets;

3. An. apparatus for producingartificial' ice col-uprising a receptacle having anonconducting wall and conducting walls opposing each, other and adjoining said nonconducting walls and having a free, open, unobstructed chamber between the said con ducting walls, whereby the ice forms in -sheets firstlalong the conducting. walls and progressively increases until the two sheets of the ice are homogeneously united continuously throughout-the area ofthe said'receptacle, and means extending'throughsaid nonconducting' wall for injecting circulating fluid currents into said receptacle at differ- --ent elevations and substantially central between the two sheets. I

4-. An apparatus for forming artificial 106 comprising a receptacle having opposing conducting walls with a clear, open, unobstruotcd chamber between them, and a non: conducting partition-forming two separate and distinct compartments.

An apparatus for forming artificial ice conducting walls and having a free, open,

com )risin a rcce tacle haviu o osin l g Y cond'i icting walls with a clean-open, unobstr'ucted chamber between them, non-cond acting part tions forming separate and distinct compartments and n1ean's'"for conducting; fluid through said non -conducting partition and discharging the same from they low heat conductivityand being provided with a central air passage having lateral.

duets eonnnunieating with the exterior of the partition.

8. A, device of the class described comprising a can and a partition transversely mounted in the can; a pipe longitudinally mounted in the partition; and lateral pipes connecting the interior of the can'with' the longitndinal pipe.

9. A device of the class described coinpris-gi ing a can and a partition transversely mounted in the can, the partition being of low heat conductivity; a pipelongitudinally mounted in the partition: and hiteral pipes eonnerting the interior of the can with the longitudinal pipe.

in testimony whereol .I have signed my nan'i'e to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. v

' i i JPAUL F. STEIN.

itnesses:

sine B. Owens, F. S. MCLAUMILIN. 

